Author TJ Hapney

Description/Blurb:

When and unstoppable warlord meets and unyielding rebel, their link becomes a new force of nature.

Taryn’s dream of forging an alliance with a powerful alien race has become a nightmare. She is linked to a ruthless warlord, an alien killing machine who could destroy humanity on a whim.

Taryn will go down fighting before she surrenders to the monster invading her mind.

But in her struggle to regain control, she finds her tormentor has irreversibly changed her, and she has in turn changed him. The link is turning her into a weapon, drawing strength from the world-slayer who had no regard for another’s life—until now.

As death and destruction erupt around them, they carve their way out of their old lives with a single common purpose: unite their forces and change the future.

Review 5 of 5 Stars

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. When I receive a new book I generally read a few pages to see how soon I plan to read it (honestly). This book caught my attention right out of the gate, which means I didn’t manage to put it down until I’d finished it. I loved the story. The characters were people that you could believe in, whether they garnered your trust or suspicion. The author managed to put an interesting spin on this book and I was happy to follow Taryn throughout her adventures.

The alien races are done well. The story is one of overcoming insurmountable odds while making unexpected allies and friends. Parts of this book are a little dark. I don’t know if my mind worked overtime, but it seemed to me that there were some pretty gruesome wound descriptions. I’m not talking about gratuitous violence as these scenes were integral to the story and what was happening, but some of the descriptions were pretty graphic.

There’s a lot going on in this story, including an alien invasion, rebellions on several fronts and various other people with their own agendas that throw a wrench in the works from time to time for Taryn as she does her best to cope with the connection between her and the alien she becomes linked to. As first contact stories go, I found this one very entertaining. The characters were complex and had a good deal of depth. I enjoyed the book right up to the ending when I started wishing that the next one was out so I could see where this interesting new joining of souls goes next.